Stories

   Health and Child Survival  

On our programme monitoring visit, one of the beneficiaries of health and child survival project commended, “It was good that Nancy (Community Health Volunteer) was nearby so we did not have to go to the health centre! It would have taken us three hours on a bicycle to get there, and with a sick baby on my arms, the journey would have been very difficult. I doubt if my son would still be alive today. I have noticed many positive changes in the community because of Nancy’s work. People learn important things at the workshops she offers. They learn how to take care of their children better and what to do when they are sick. And in anemergency, it’s good to have Nancy close by.” 

Access to water

Joyce (not her real name), a mother of five children is one of the beneficiaries of the water project.  Joyce lives 500 metres away from the centre but when she was asked about the distance, she said that is less than half the distance she used to walk to fetch water.

“I am so happy that women in this community are remembered and saved from walking over 3 kilometres in search of clean water. With a family of six members like mine, you need to carry at least 4- 20 litres jerry cans of water every day for domestic use. This is for cooking and making sure my husband takes a bathe before he goes to work.  I used to wake up at 5.00am to ensure by 7.00am, I have water for cooking before children go to school. Because the distance was very long, sometimes I could hire a bicycle to ferry for me some water. 

I can now plan my day knowing very well that at the centre, there is water and the road to the centre is safe because it is used by very many people. When this project started, many people including me thought it will not work. Why? Because in the past, politicians have promised us water and even formed committees that collected some donations from women groups, but we continue to suffer.

All that was requested from us was our participation and some of us could not believe until we saw a very huge machine drilling water. We were so excited, but it took so long for us to start using the water. When we asked, we were told that the water must be tested by the ministry of health and we wondered who has tested the water we use from the unprotected spring with animal dung all over before this project offered to protect it late last year.

Eventually, we were called for training and some of us started asking ourselves why we should go for training because we have been using water without training for all these years. But during the training, we were taught ways of using water well and how we can contribute to the maintenance of the pump and the spring. We are very happy to contribute Kenya Shillings 10 per month per household.

From that training, I have reduced the amount of water I use per day from 4 to 3 jerricans meaning I only make three trips per day. I make one in the morning and two trips late in the evening.”

Asked whether men will now help in carrying water, Joyce replied, “Men in this community can only carry water on the bicycle as a business but when they reach home, they expect their wives to provide water for bathing. Maybe this project should in future construct a bathroom where men line up and pay before bathing. That can pay for maintenance of the pump.”

Vocational Training for teenage mothers

Young People Innovation Centre (YPIC) provides training to teenage mothers and former street children in Kenya. The centre is equipped with adequate tools for tailoring and catering. Over the years, the centre has maintained the number of accommodated trainees and increased the number of day scholars. 

Maria, 19, learnt of YPIC programmes two years ago as she needed a space to connect with other teenage mothers who were in her situation and would be understanding of her predicament. Maria got pregnant when she was in class 8 forcing her to drop out of school and depend on her single mother after the death of her father 3 years ago. Although she got pregnant while at school, her mother could not afford to pay for school levies and all that she needed in life. Soon after, she became pregnant at the age of 16, but unfortunately, the father of her child failed to provide the necessary support. Maria found herself on the street with no food and clothing for her baby. Maria was initially attracted to YPIC when she was looking for shelter. Asked about how she has benefited from vocational training, Maria had the following to say,

 “I am so excited to be given this opportunity. YPIC vocational training programme has given me and other girls the chance to improve on our lifestyles. The acceptance of our situation and the chance to talk about our problems is the reason why so many teenage mothers and adolescent girls long to join YPIC for training. Unplanned pregnancy is the main problem amongst girls here and the society has always judged the girl-child. Without YPIC I would still be on the streets and my child would have died many months ago. By joining this centre, I have been able to learn how to how to sew using manual machine and electric sewing machine. The one year I have spent here has been very helpful to me and my child. What YPIC has done to me and others will surely transform our community and girls who drop out of school or get pregnant will have an opportunity to develop skills, feel accommodated and fend for themselves. With the few part-time tailoring jobs I usually do over the weekend, I can help my mother as well. We hope the centre will complete this building so that other young mothers who are still on the streets can have a chance to receiving training. Furthermore, I now have grade 3 certificates on tailoring and I and working very hard for my grade 2 examination”.